Hi Guys,

This is every single Andrew Huberman protocol from the first year of his podcast. These are all things that just about anybody can do whether you're working full-time studying full-time or straight lazy fulltime.

We're going to be starting with his most famous which is sunlight.

Sunlight ☀️

The protocol is to spend 5 to 10 minutes in the morning walking or just being out in sunlight letting as much sunlight absorb into your eyes as possible without directly looking into the sun.

This is even to be done on overcast windy days. There's still enough light seeping through the cloud cover to get the positive effects but you're going to have to increase the time outside to more like 15 20 minutes. If you can you can extend this duration or combine it with some type of exercise walking or running.

After the routine is implemented it feels like you're ready and awake.

Morning sunlight boosts cortisol epinephrine and dopamine by 50% enhancing energy immunity and mood. It also crucially regulates the body's Cadian clock impacting wakefulness sleepiness and a bunch of other physiological processes.

But the benefits of sunlight don't end in the morning. In fact spending time outside in the late afternoon carries its own set of benefits. The unique wavelengths of the Sun during this time especially the warm yellows and oranges communicate to our Cadian clock that evening is approaching signaling the body to initiate the transition towards a restful night's sleep. It's a so good incorporating this late afternoon sunlight into your routine it pretty much creates a second Anchor Point for you which reminds your Cadian clock of where you are in the day and ensures that your body remains in harmony with nature.

Now onto the next protocol which is lateral eye movements.

Lateral eye movements 👁️

5 to 10 lateral eye movements left to right in moments of stress. Or go for a walk where your eyes naturally perform lateral eye movements.

When walking this is referred to as self-generated Optical flow and works to decrease stress by suppressing the amydala. The amydala is the part of the brain that deals with the detection of threats and activating appropriate fear related behaviors in response to threatening or dangerous stimuli this is also why eye movement desensitisation reprocessing is showing more and more promise in the psychology space. It's the same idea of Rapid lateral eye movements which help dampen the power of emotionly charged memories of past and let the individual move on from that experience.

Now we're going to move on to ultradian cycles.

Ultradian cycles ⏰

Use these intervals for Focus-work beginning with 5 to 10 minutes of easing into tasks, then ramp up Focus for 80 to 90 minutes, then spend 10 to 30 minutes deliberately defocusing with the aim being 1 to 3 deep focus Cycles daily. Ultradian rhythms are repetitive body Cycles occurring within 24 hours.

The goal is to use these rhythms to align with your natural work rest Cycles to enhance productivity and reduce fatigue to harness this natural Rhythm.

You want to block off your day into 1 to 3 intense Focus bouts. Most people find it challenging to sustain more than three to four solid blocks of concentrated work.

Make Errors ❌

This is less of a protocol and much more of a mind shift change and that is that errors trigger plasticity in the brain. The protocol focuses on how neuroplasticity enables our brains to reshape and adapt in response to experiences making errors and repeating them, trigger the release of neurochemicals that signal our neural circuits to change creating an ideal environment for learning new skills.

I've procrastinated a lot in my life when it comes to learning new skills because so many anxious thoughts rush to me.

If you're not failing you're not learning and that brings us to protocol 5 deliberate defocusing.

Deliberate defocusing 🔄

Take 10 seconds within reps of learning a new skill. After a block of learning along a defocus 5 to 30 minutes.

While practice and repetition are fundamental to mastering new skills, research has illuminated the importance of integrating rest intervals within and at the end of learning sessions. Rest acts is the vital link connecting the learning process with the Improvement of neural pathways.

My goto is just taking a conscious breath and closing my eyes within reps of learning a new skill.

Looking out the window and looking as far as I can in a panoramic fashion for a few minutes is my goto if the session was close up learning on the laptop.

And if it's something much more important that I really want to remember or that made me extremely fatigued, I'll perform a non-sleep deep rest protocol that we'll talk about more in protocol 7.

During these rest periods something remarkable occurs within the brain both the hippocampus and cortex. Crucial brain regions remain highly active. They tirelessly process the recently acquired information at an astonishing rate. Approximately 20 times faster than during active practice. Which is honestly insane and exactly why I use those techniques.

Now that brings us to myopia.

Myopia 👓

For every 45 minutes of screen viewing look as far as you can on the horizon for 5 minutes.

Andrew Huberman is not the first person to recommend this. But he was the one that made me take action and actually start incorporating it into my life. So every half an hour I literally just sit back look out the window for a minute or two kind of focusing as far as I can. Sometimes adding a little bit of movement in the foreground and then also Focus distances on different objects.

But for me this is honestly been a game changer

Now that brings us to non-sleep deep rest.

Non-sleep deep rest🧘

It's a protocol that involves listening to a 10 to 30 minute mindful breathing and body scan that guides The Listener into an aware yet deep relaxed state. This protocol is so powerful that I'm going to have to make its own newsletter for it. It literally carries all the benefits of defocusing in the previous protocol plus so much more.

There are four different times I would use this in my day depending on what I'm doing and how I'm feeling.

First is after a learning bout which will only be a 10 to 15 minute script

The second type of yoga nidra. A longer 30 minute one. Do this after like a super intense like I guess vocab learning or something like that. Like language learning or something analytical to get all the memory consolidation benefits or just do after work.

Third is right after a workout when I want to switch my nervous system from sympathetic to parasympathetic. It ensures that I'm able to start my recovery as quickly as possible

But the fourth time I would do yoga throughout my day is if I I'm struggling really hard to get to sleep. I'm lucky because I’m following a lot of sleep advice so I tend to sleep pretty well at the same time very quickly.

But there's a few nights where you know ruminating thoughts might come in and you just can't get to sleep.

It's definitely effective I got to recommend that one

Next one physiological sigh.

Physiological sigh😮‍💨

This one is just easier for Professor Huberman himself to explain it:

“There's a pattern of breathing called the physiological side that involves two inhales followed by a long exhale inhale through your nose very deeply and then after inhaling as deeply as you can you're going to try and sneak in a little bit more air on a second inhale also through your nose and then after you do that you're going to do a long exhale to the point where your lungs are empty.

This is one of the best protocols that I literally had never even heard of before. And the best part about it is, that it can literally just bring a sense of calm in real time.

In this new study from the lab it showed that practicing this technique of breathing for just 5 minutes a day can have a better effect of reducing stress than meditation box breathing and cyclic hyperventilation.

I like to take a few conscious physiological sights anytime I'm transitioning from a short-term stressor like exercising in the gym or after run.

Now that brings us to our last two protocols which is supplementing fish oil and magnesium.

Fish oil and magnesium🐟

The protocol is 1 to 4 grams of fish oil aiming for 2 grams of EPA and 300 mg for magnesium. As you're hitting the goal of 2 G of EPA per day just make sure that they're not oxidized by keeping them out of the light and refrigerated.

Omega-3 fatty acids have also been shown to improve concentration, enhance cognitive function, and even support a positive mood.

Additionally Omega-3s have anti-inflammatory properties, promoting overall wellness and reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease.

For me the main benefit is decrease in delayed onset muscle soreness. Magnesium on the other hand I've found widely different results depending on what form I'm using.

Magnesium glycinate has been the best for me. It plays a vital role in muscle relaxation which can help alleviate muscular soreness and promote a sense of calm.

It also supports healthy sleep patterns, reduces stress levels and contributes to strong bones.

Additionally this mineral is essential for energy production within our cells keeping his feeling energised and revitalised.

And with that,

Cheers

Jonas